rpilot

Having never owned a car with summer tires (all season for me so far), how does one manage driving in a weather like Atlanta during the months of Nov-Mar where:

A) On some days the temps vary from below the threshold of summer tires like 30-35 F during late night and morning hours to as high as the upper 50s or 60s during the afternoon?

B) On some days (very few) where the weather consistently remains below the 40F threshold (as low as the teens to a high in the upper 30s (winter tires would be ideal but I cant keep changing them daily or weekly)

C) some days where the weather remains above the threshold of winter tires (again summer tires would work fine, but I cant keep changing them)

Logically during the winter months, I would switch to all seasons, but it seems the only 991 (19") tires available are summer or winter, no all season.

Or should I just plan to park my 991 on the days that the weather seems uncooperative for summer tires and drive my other car with all seasons on them?

Good advice would be helpful.

chuck911

Different people will give different advice, but one thing to realize is its hardly as if you can't drive summer tires all year around. Yes you will have less traction under certain circumstances, but everything is a tradeoff. Where I live near Seattle for example we do get some snow and ice but so little and so short duration its hardly worth mounting true snow tires- unless driving over the passes on a regular basis. Maybe not even then. Remember the tradeoff. Those winter tires really only shine on the conditions they're made for- compact snow and ice. Anything less and you're living with squishy mushy handling while also accelerating tire wear. That's fine if you're kind of a belt and suspenders sort of guy, but for me it just bugs me too much. I would rather have the highest performance summer tires and then use my driving skills and experience to judge for myself when to moderate based on conditions, rather than have the tires force me down to a lower bracket at all times other than the extreme conditions they are really made for.

Watch autocross on a rainy day and you'll see what I mean. Cars with R-compound, or even Hoosiers, are faster even on cold wet pavement than normal street tires, despite their lack of tread. BUT ONLY UNTIL the point where they hydroplane! At that point they may abruptly slide as if on ice. The guys running these know about it, know how to drive it, seldom have problems. Tires with deeper tread, more channels, sipes, can still hydroplane, they just tend to handle deeper water, or snow, before it happens. So get whatever gives you comfort, but in either case learning how to drive them will be more critical than which ones you choose to mount.

chuckbdc

Your car will not spin and flip when you start in in cold weather with summer tires. They just grip less well when the temps are below 40 degrees F. If it is wet, that increases less grip and adds to sudden breakaway. You just need to drive softer especially where you uesd to drive harder, in order to stay safe, but its not that big a deal if you can control yourself on freezing cold winter rides. BUT. All bets are off if there is snow- even a trace. Wide summer tires have little grip in snow and it really becomes dangerous to trust them to stop or turn. I had to change the perfomance (PS2) tires on my other car (Infiniti sedan) when the first time it snowed. It used to be my daily driver, but I cannot stay out of the 991!

rnl

I went with the Porsche winter and wheel tire set. I did this because I didn't want to experiment with tires as there with less than 4 square feet of contact with the road I want the best possible engagement for braking and handling. It's an expensive car that I am going to keep around for while.
Is it overkill? Maybe.

chuckbdc

For Atlanta you sure don't need snow tires- a good set of all seasons will give solid performance in all conditions

rpilot

I hear you.. and I am thinking of doing the same thing. However, how do these winter tires do when the temperature is 65 degrees or 70 degrees in the afternoon. My question is really if I get the winter tires.. am I safe, sane and/or stupid driving these in 70 degree weather one day in winter.

rpilot

Like I said in my OP, i can't buy all seasons in that size.

certified_prime

Completely fine. In warm weather, those winter tires will be fine, just louder. They will wear a bit faster as well, and won't be as high performance as the summers.

holminator

Concur. Took the same approach up in Maryland-northern Virginia. It's good advice.

chuckbdc

Waitaminit. Your car is not due until April, right? By then they may have the sizes you want, global warming may obviate the need...

rpilot

Yeah.. but I am just planning ahead for next year .. You are right though. A lot could change between now and then.. like Michelin PSS should be available in that size.. but I dont see a whole lot of hope for all seasons in that size...

mtbscott

My climate is close to yours. Very few days a year that would require all seasons, winter tires almost never. I just limit my driving on those days and go extra careful if I must.

chuckbdc

GT Silver is really the best color

You need one of these.

DrJay

Chuck, where did you get that?

DrJay

To answer the question, I would just get winter tires on it for the winter months. A few warmer days are not going to kill them and it is cheaper than wrecking your new Porsche.